Search

Abstract: The retreat of Lillooet Glacier (LG) has exposed a succession of pillow basalt and subordinate amounts of breccia and hyaloclastite. The lithofacies and physiographic setting suggest that the deposits [...]

This study investigated whether students with reading disabilities (RD) showed greater regression in reading skills than did non-RD students over the summer vacation. The RD group consisted of 30 students in grades 4 to 6 from a private school for students with learning disabilities and a comparison group of 30 average readers in grades 4 to 6 attending a public school. All students were tested in May/June and September on measures of reading achievement, phonological processing, and oral receptive vocabulary. Significant regression in the RD group's scores was found on speed of sight word reading, speeded phonological decoding, and untimed sight word reading. These results suggested that students with RD tend to decline in areas that require automatic reading skills. Implications for students with RD in relation to periods of extended absence from formal literacy instruction are discussed.

There has been growing concern as to the mental health status of persons with learning disabilities (PWLD). This study examined rates of mental health problems among PWLD aged 15 to 44 years using a large, nationally representative data set. PWLD were more than twice as likely to report high levels of distress, depression, anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts, visits to mental health professionals, and poorer overall mental health than were persons without disabilities (PWOD). Multivariate regression analyses determined that these significantly higher rates of mental health problems remained for all six measures after controlling for confounding factors including income, education, social support, and physical health. Differences found in the older adult sample (ages 30-44) were even larger than in the adolescent sample (ages 15-21) for suicidal thoughts, depression, and distress. Males with learning disabilities were more likely to report depressive episodes, anxiety disorders, and consultations with health professionals, whereas females with learning disabilities were more likely to report high distress, suicidal thoughts, and poor general mental health relative to PWOD. On balance, learning disabilities were not found to be more detrimental to mental health for one gender or the other. (Contains 8 tables and 1 note.)

Exposure to print is a significant predictor of vocabulary growth and declarative knowledge in normally achieving readers (Stanovich, West, & Harrison, 1995). Research has also shown that initial differences in print exposure can be used to predict differences in reading comprehension in children studied ten years after initial assessment (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997). The present study seeks to broaden this research by using print exposure to explore similarities and differences in both reading comprehension and vocabulary in a sample of students with well-documented learning disabilities in the area of reading (RD), and a control group without reading disabilities. Print exposure was related to untimed reading comprehension scores and vocabulary scores for the students with RD and to timed comprehension scores and vocabulary scores for the control group. (Contains 5 tables.)

The present study investigated the persistent nature of naming speed deficits within the context of the double-deficit hypothesis in a university sample of adults with reading disabilities (RD). Twenty-five university students with RD were compared to 28 typically achieving readers on measures of reading skill, phonological processing, and naming speed. The results indicated that both naming speed and phonological processing deficits characterized the RD group. In a regression analysis, neither naming speed nor phonological processing were important variables in explaining comprehension when reading rate was in the model. The results of the present study are mixed at best and are consistent with earlier conclusions that support for the double-deficit hypothesis of dyslexia remains limited.

A study investigated phonological processing skills of 28 undergraduates with dyslexia. When compared to 31 controls, subjects performed significantly less well on standardized measures of reading and spelling but in the average range. Controls, however, performed significantly better on all phonological processing measures, particularly those involving accuracy and response times. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)